Polish diplomat reveals how Lukashenka knows how to "charm interlocutors" and who becomes his victims

Mariusz Maszkiewicz. Photo: gov.pl/web/gruzja

As Maszkiewicz explains, "charming the interlocutor" consists of

"leading the conversation in such a way that the interlocutor gets the impression that we share their views. First, we listen carefully and grasp their intentions, then after a prolonged conversation, skillfully twist phrases to create an impression of shared values and assessments."

In his opinion:

"This art, which belongs to the catalog of skills 'how to survive a night in a wild forest,' represents one of the fundamental cultural differences between people from the West and inhabitants of the post-Soviet space."

It is precisely Lukashenka's excellent command of this skill that Mariusz Maszkiewicz uses to explain his phenomenal ability to "outwit and deceive not only his own citizens but, as it turns out, also the great figures of this world: presidents, prime ministers, ministers."

According to him, the first victims of Lukashenka's "charm" are the "experts" who "prepare notes, speeches, and develop scenarios on the political chessboard for these Western politicians."

"The basis for the 'charming the interlocutor' technique is maintaining the pace and temperature of the dialogue. You need to bring the interlocutor to a state where they cannot emotionally extricate themselves from their own mistake. According to the principle: show me your dreams, and I will sell them to you as my own," Maszkiewicz explains how it works.

He then lists Polish politicians who, at various times, were unable to resist a similar technique used by Lukashenka:

"Among them was President Aleksander Kwaśniewski, whom, after a multi-hour exhausting meeting in the Białowieża Forest in 1996, staff members struggled to escort to his car. Fortunately, President Kwaśniewski quickly realized what a manipulator the Belarusian leader was and later avoided him like the plague.

Who else fell for it? There is no political force that hasn't fallen into this trap. Minister Radosław Sikorski — consumed by his own vanity — heard from Alyaksandr Lukashenka that he was a genius. Another memorable victim of the "charming" technique was Senate Marshal Stanisław Karczewski — he unwisely repeated after his interlocutor that "Lukashenka is a very warm person." It should be noted that he himself quickly realized how he had been manipulated. However, the memorable phrase entered the media world and became a peculiar internet meme."

He then turns to the most recent example — the recent statements by the former head of Polish intelligence, Piotr Krauczyk. Mariusz Maszkiewicz judges him more harshly than the previously mentioned individuals, as in their case, he believes, it was "about anecdotes and situations that arose contrary to the intentions of Polish politicians." As for Krauczyk:

"It's worse when the head of Polish intelligence repeats narratives heard from his Belarusian interlocutors and takes them as his own. [Krauczyk] revealed that Polish services conducted intensive negotiations with the Belarusian KGB in 2017-2019, guided by the conviction that if the head of the service is of Polish origin (Ivan Tsertsel), then he must undoubtedly have good intentions. And stories about 'defending independence' and the difficult fate under Putin's Russian boot were bought."

Maszkiewicz notes that the myth of Lukashenka as a defender of Belarus's independence and a fighter against its absorption by its eastern neighbor is already more than 30 years old:

"To this day, the Belarusian satrap sells off his own homeland piece by piece for personal gain, constantly repeating that it is for the good of the country. The message sent to the world is that only he heroically resists Moscow's intrigues. The so-called West (turning a blind eye to the obvious "flaws" of Belarusian democracy) must support Lukashenka in this heroic process of defending the remnants of his own state."

Maszkiewicz also treats representatives of US President Donald Trump as victims of Lukashenka's "interlocutor manipulation," who have been engaged in fairly intensive negotiations with Lukashenka for the past year and got involved "in the trade of live goods, that is, the exchange of political prisoners for the lifting of sanctions on fertilizer exports."

"In my imagination, I see him repeating in deep secrecy to surprised Americans stories about a bloody Putin and how only Lukashenka is capable of saving the world from a nuclear catastrophe. Now, the President of France, who is sending his representative for negotiations in Minsk, is asking to be a victim."

At the end of the article, Maszkiewicz mentions how, in June 2002, as the outgoing ambassador in Minsk, he had a long and unofficial conversation with Lukashenka, and the Belarusian dictator told him the same thing:

"I know from him that he fights with Vladimir Putin and is terrified of him. This does not mean that he is defending Belarus's independence. He is defending his own skin and his accumulated wealth."

He concludes his text with an appeal to "experts":

"Ladies and gentlemen experts, please consider at least this one 'technology' of 'charming the interlocutor' in your analyses, and then it will be easier for you to decipher the convoluted logic of political figures making decisions in Moscow and Minsk."

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